Combining signals from spotted cDNA microarrays obtained at different scanning intensities

The analysis of spotted cDNA microarrays involves scanning of color signals from fluorescent dyes. A common problem is that a given scanning intensity is not usually optimal for all spotted cDNAs. Specifically, some spots may be at the saturation limit, resulting in poor separation of signals from different tissues or conditions. The problem may be addressed by multiple scans with varying scanning intensities. Multiple scanning intensities raise the question of how to combine different signals from the same spot, particularly when measurement error is not negligible.